Canadian Stocks Rise as Verde Potash, Knight Therapeutics Climb

March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose, with energy
and financial shares leading gains, as the market rebounded
after a drop yesterday triggered by concern the U.S. central
bank may raise interest rates by the middle of next year.

In a press conference at the end of a two-day meeting
yesterday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank’s
stimulus program could end this fall and benchmark interest
rates could rise six months later. The Fed had not previously
given a time frame for the rate raise. Selling sped up in
equities and bond yields jumped in U.S. markets just after 3
p.m. New York time yesterday when Yellen spoke about the timing
of a potential interest rate raise.

“People are parsing her comments too much, but she was
pretty consistent that they are working on a forecast,” said
John O’Connell, chief executive officer at Davis Rea Ltd. in
Toronto, which manages about C$600 million. “If you’re upset
the rates target has been pushed forward by 90 days, then you
shouldn’t be investing in stocks in the first place.”

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 27.79
points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,361.83 at the close in Toronto.
The index has risen 5.4 percent this year.

Potash Producers

Verde Potash rose 14 percent to C$1.68 after increasing
resource estimates at its project in Brazil. Potash is used as a
fertilizer to strengthen plant roots. The company said it plans
to build an open-pit mine at the site and sell directly to the
Brazilian agricultural market.

Knight Therapeutics rose 12 percent to C$5.55 after the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s
Impavido drug, which is used to treat a tropical disease called
leishmaniasis.

AirBoss of America fell 6.7 percent to C$7.98 after
reporting a fourth-quarter loss of 3 cents a share, compared
with a gain of 8 cents a share for the same period in the
previous year. The Newmarket, Ontario-based company also said
Stephen Richards, who served as chief financial officer and
chief operating officer, had resigned.

Coal miner Walter Energy Inc. fell 20 percent to C$8.13
after Bank of America Corp. said the commodity will be
“depressed” for the next several years. Benchmark contract
prices for metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel, are
at the lowest since 2010.

Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. fell 6.4 percent to
C$33.21. The company stores and loads coal at the Port Metro
Vancouver, where a strike by truckers is affecting cargo
shipments.

Concordia Healthcare Corp. rose 7.9 percent to C$17.08
after announcing an agreement to buy the drug Donnatal, a
treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, from Revive
Pharmaceuticals.